The invention relates to an improved tape cassette intended for use with video or audio technology. Specifically, the invention provides a tape cassette intended to be primarily utilized in the duplicator market. Duplicators commonly are independent companies serving the video and audio tape markets. For instance, the video market is primarily composed of three distinct categories: (1) the movie retail and rental market; (2) the industrial market consisting of 12-30 minute tapes such as demo tapes, catalogue tapes, plant tours, etc; and (3) the premium incentive market, generally consisting of classic movies or other tapes sold as a premium with the purchase of another product. The audio market is also composed of three distinct categories: (1) the music market; (2) the spoken word retail and rental market; and (3) the instructional retail and rental market. Duplicator companies are used to supply all of these markets. Such tapes, in the video industry alone, are estimated to account for over one billion prerecorded video cassettes that were dubbed and distributed in 1990.
Duplicator operations are, overall, fairly similar. The video duplicator purchases a "standard" all plastic video cassette, called a shell, having a small leader tape inside. Video tape copies are made from an original tape and then loaded into the shells. The industry "standard" and most commonly available video cassette is heavily built and usually designed for long playing tape--typically two to six hours. The industry "standard" cassette is primarily constructed from all black plastic, with graphics applied through the use of a label, having a tuck-in style outer carton which has an open end on either the bottom or the side into which the video cassette is inserted. Less commonly available are other assorted all plastic cassettes, such as a one-piece clamshell cassette and the "Delta" cassette, which are constructed with lighter-weight components than the industry "standard" cassette. Audio cassettes generally use an all plastic cassette having graphics applied through the use of a label and a graphic paperboard insert usually placed inside a clear plastic flip-top storage box.
The use of such standard cassettes in the duplicator market provides for an end quality which is sometimes much greater than that necessary for the intended life span of the tape contained therein. As a result, there is a demand for less expensive cassettes offering limited play quality. Cassette designers, primarily those in the video industry, have attempted to meet this demand and provide a lower cost cassette better suited for use in the duplicator industry. Examples of such cassettes are shown, for instance, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,969,612 which discloses a cassette having top, bottom and side panels which are made of a bendable material such as paperboard, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,883,176 which discloses a paperboard video cassette housing. Such an all paperboard cassette, however, has been found to lack sufficient strength to operate in a commercial video cassette player and, many times, self destructs during initial use. Therefore, there remains a demand for a cassette tape, both audio and video, that is better suited for use in the duplicator market than the standard all-plastic cassettes currently available.
It is an object of this invention to provide a tape cassette which is lightweight and offers the limited play quality for the intended useful life span of the unit.
Another object of this invention is to reduce the per unit cost of a tape cassette.
A further object of this invention is to provide a tape cassette having a lower per unit postage cost for mailing and shipping than the industry "standard" cassette.
Another object of this invention is to provide a lightweight and less expensive tape cassette by reducing the amount of plastic required in the structure of the cassette.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a tape cassette that eliminates the need for the outer carton.
Yet a further object of the invention is to provide the capability for applying high quality graphics directly to the tape cassette, thus further eliminating the need for the outer carton.
A further object of the present invention is to provide tape cassette graphics, applied directly to the tape cassette, that have a print/gloss quality comparable to that of a vinyl album jacket.
Yet another objective of the present invention is to provide a tape cassette that discourages illegal duplication. Currently, illegal duplication of tape cassettes is easily accomplished because of the industry use of the "standard" style cassette which is available from numerous sources. Counterfeiters only need to load the duplicated tape into the standard shell and duplicate the label to achieve an end product virtually identical with the legal originals and duplicates. If the counterfeit is given good graphics duplication which is commonly available, it is very difficult to identify an original tape cassette from an illegal duplicate. The present invention is intended to provide a unique tape cassette which will assist in preventing illegal duplication because it is not "standard" and would be cost prohibitive to manufacture and duplicate.
A final object of the invention is to provide a lightweight and inexpensive tape cassette capable of meeting quality assurance standards for cassette integrity when exposed to extreme environmental conditions. Such tests include exposure of the tape cassette to extreme environmental conditions emulating the conditions to which a cassette might be exposed if left in an unattended automobile. For instance, it is desirable that the tape cassette maintain structural integrity when exposed to the following four tests: 160.degree. F. for 24 hours; 160.degree. F. for 72 hours; -40.degree. F. for 24 hours; and 95% humidity level at 75.degree. F. for 24 hours.